Bottom Line: Slow, steady economic growth predicted for 2013

The slow, yet steady economic progress that was the anthem among economists in 2012 is expected to linger into 2013, as politics nationally and abroad continue to hinder progress.

Nationally, economic growth is not expected to be robust, as the country looks at an annual gross domestic product growth of less than 2 percent. This is slower by a couple of tenths of a percent than what was experienced last year, said Joseph Magaddino, professor of economics at Cal State Long Beach.

The country should also see some improvement in the unemployment rate, but not to where it should be, Magaddino said. Nationally, job growth should be either at 225,000 to 250,000 jobs a month.

"We're well off that mark," he said Thursday. "Right now, it's around 170,000 jobs a month."

He expects unemployment to be around 7.5 percent.

"The economy is progressing forward but at a modest and steady pace," he said. "We won't see strong growth until the end of 2014."

Part of what is affecting economic progress is tied to the political situation in Washington, D.C., he said.

"People are pretty much sitting on the sidelines until there is confirmation on what the long-term policies will look like," Magaddino said.

Also, problems in Europe persist with the euro zone still mired in recession despite recent reform measures, he said.

"That means the outlook for our growth in exports looks to be pretty small," he said.

Meanwhile, imports should see modest growth as the U.S. economy continues to recover, he said.

In transportation, the Port of Long Beach and the Long Beach Airport are expected to have solid years in terms of their ability to move goods and people, while tourism should start to look up, with hotels in Long Beach seeing even better business this year, Magaddino said.

Lastly, housing may have finally bottomed out in pricing and may start to see early signs of recovery. However, Magaddino said he does not anticipate seeing stronger growth in housing until 2014 or 2015.